A food control law to stablize wartime food supply

Today, and February 21st annually, is Food Control Law Promulgation Memorial Day (食糧管理法公布記念日). The law was promulgated on this day in 1942 to secure national food supplies and stabilize the wartime economy. 

Enacted during a period of chronic shortages that had begun in the mid‑1930s, the law placed the entire system of food production, distribution, and consumption—especially rice—under direct government control. Rice became a fully state‑managed commodity, and even landlords were prohibited from selling tenant‑harvested rice independently. This framework was part of Japan’s broader wartime mobilization, in which rationing, compulsory deliveries, and price controls were introduced to prevent hoarding and ensure equitable distribution.

After the war, the Food Control Law continued to shape daily life for decades, as rationing persisted into the early 1950s and the government maintained strict oversight of staple foods. The system finally came to an end in 1995, when Japan began importing rice under minimum access agreements, leading to the law’s repeal and its replacement by the Food Supply and Price Stabilization Law (主要食糧法) .

The photo is of a school lunch in Japan in 1942, when due to rations only soup was served.